Qld plans private hospital amid budget cuts

The Queensland government will call for expressions of interest later this year for a new private hospital in Brisbane on the site of the Royal Children’s Hospital, saying it can’t afford to build one itself.

In a fundamental shake-up of the state’s health system, Health Minister
Lawrence Springborg
said the Liberal National Party government would look to the private sector to step in once the current hospital’s services are phased out after the opening of the Queensland Children’s Hospital in South Brisbane.

The move to further privatise health services in Queensland will put Premier
Campbell Newman
’s government on another collision course with unions.

“There is no money left in the tin. We have an $85 billion IOU [debt], but we know that we are going to have to keep investing in health infrastructure," Mr Springborg told The Australian Financial Review.

“We’ll need to ensure it’s value for money and it does solve some of our health quandaries. But if we can leverage off the back of our ­private sector and their capabilities and efficiencies, it’s a very attractive option for us."

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At a launch of the Newman government’s health action plan in Brisbane on Wednesday, Mr Springborg announced that market sounding for the new private hospital would begin in May. Expressions of interest would be called in October before a tender early next year for the hospital, which would become a “plan procedure centre" that carried out ­routine elective ­surgery.

Mr Springborg said the new hospital would be aimed at removing planned elective procedures from emergency departments as a way to help clear hospital waiting lists.

“What we want to do is have a standalone facility that is actually designed to do planned elective procedures, so it doesn’t interfere with all the other things that come up in the day-to-day operation of a hospital, like medical emergencies," Mr Springborg said.

Federal Treasurer
Wayne Swan
said the Gillard government would do everything in its power to stop the proposed health reforms.

Opposition Leader
Annastacia Palaszczuk
said the hospital overhaul was just the first wave of privatisations planned by the Newman government that would result in more job losses.

Last year, Mr Springborg flagged the possibility of developing more privately funded hospitals after awarding the $1.8 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital project to a consortium led by construction giant Lend Lease.

Mr Springborg said members of the private sector had told him they were very interested in providing more health facilities, like the Mater Private hospital in Brisbane.

The government is also exploring the appetite of the private sector for providing facilities at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital when it opens in 2016.

It will also call for private sector interest in taking up the spare capacity at the Gold Coast University Hospital, which is under construction and will open in September.